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Sunday, November 1, 2015

FROM HELL (1989)

OUT OF THE BACK ISSUE BIN

Views and Reviews of Comic Books from the Past

ByReed Tucker

(via special arrangement by John "THE MEGO STRETCH HULK" Cimino)

FROM HELL (1989)

Written by: Alan Moore

Drawn by: Eddie Campbell

I work as an entertainment reporter at the New York Post, and
it is the newspaper’s (horribly misguided) policy to print my email address at
the end of every article I write. As you might imagine, I fire up my computer
each morning to find my in box clogged with all manner of e-garbage.

It’s almost impossible to overstate just how much of the
unsolicited email I receive is absolutely useless.

“Would you be interested in writing about an exciting new
carpet-cleaning technique?”

No.

“Expert available to talk about the latest Khloe Kardashian
news.”

Not interested.

Scattered among the publicity pitches and the Chinese Viagra
ads are also a few missives from real-life readers. This being the Internet,
most begin with some variation of, “Dear dipshit,” and then go on to rip me a
new one because of something seemingly harmless I’ve written about the latest
Johnny Depp movie or whatever. But every once in a long while, something useful shows up in
the in box -- something that’s interesting, and on target. Something that I can
actually use.

And that’s how I met John.

He emailed me a link to a blog post he’d written about the
potential ties between a 1950s children’s Halloween costume and Marvel’s
Spider-Man. It was a fascinating story backed by research and reasoned
speculation. My first thought was, this is insane. How come no major
publication has written about this? If true, this information could rewrite the
history of one of the most popular superheroes of all time. Even if not true, it
still makes for a great read, check it out here: "The 1963 Ben Cooper Spider-Man Halloween Costume". The editors at the paper agreed, and I wrote an article for the
Post summarizing John’s theory called:"The billion dollar Spider-man cover up".

I’ve since met John in person, and he probably has more
knowledge of (as well as more enthusiasm for) comic books than anyone I’ve ever come
across. Which is why he’s free to email me to tell me to write a review on my
favorite book of all time for his blog. Just be sure to begin it, “Dear dipshit.”

Just the other day, a seasoned comics professional confessed to
me that he thought Watchmen was -- there’s no easy way to put this -- “fucking
overrated.”

“Well, someone had to say it,” he concluded.

I’m not sure I’d go that far, but when it comes to Alan Moore,
I know what his most underrated work has to be: From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campell.

As intelligent as Watchmen? Check. As dense and meticulously
plotted? Check. Told with beautiful art that’s perfectly suited for the mood of
this particular tale? Check. Completely transports the reader to another world?
Check. Is populated with engaging and three-dimensional characters? Check. And yet this alterna-history of the Jack the Ripper murders is
rarely mentioned in the same breath as Watchmen or even Swamp Thing.

When some rube starts banging on about how comic books are only
good for telling juvenile superhero stories, I want to drop this 572-page baby
on his toe. To me, this story proves that absolutely anything can be done in a
graphic novel. It gets overlooked, I think, simply because it fell outside the
whole offering-more-grown-up-spins-on-costumed-heroes revolution of the 1980s.

But From Hell is as satisfying as any historical-fiction novel
I’ve ever read. I don’t even care that the theory behind the murders presented
here has been mostly discredited. Moore makes it stand up, and that’s all that
matters to me.

And he does it with a jaw-dropping amount of research -- most
of which is recounted in the series’ extensive footnotes.

And what can you say about Eddie Campbell’s art? The scratchy
pen work on display here is so singular, so perfectly adapted for this book.
Show someone just one panel, and if they’re a comic fan, I’ll bet you they
could tell you immediately where it came from. Even if they’ve never cracked
open a comic book in their life, I’d bet they could make a pretty strong guess
about the kind of story this is.

It’s amazing what Campbell does with what appears to be little
more than a black ink pen. Look at the way he textures a character’s plaid
overcoat or creates the outline of a distant building, shadowed in fog, with
just a few vertical slashes. Look at the way he creates eerie backgrounds out
of violently criss-crossed lines.

I shudder to think how many books of Victorian reference must
populate Campbell’s bookshelf. Every detail here feels authentic, from the
clothes to the grimy streets to the gruesome murder scenes. I can still see his
drawing of Mary Kelly -- victim #5 -- her eviscerated body spread across a bed.

This is one of the best marriages of art and story I’ve ever
come across.

Hollywood tried adapting From Hell a few years ago, and of
course, the movie stunk. But instead of diminishing my enjoyment of the source
material, it just made me appreciate it more. From Hell is a dense, unwieldy
beast that’s impossible to compress into a two-hour movie without taking so
many shortcuts that something gets lost. Like any good comic book, it’s a story
that’s meant to be appreciated one way and one way only: in comic book form.

And truth be told, I also have an extra bit of fondness for
this series because it represents one of the last works Moore released before
he turned into a crusty old grump, producing increasingly impenetrable (to me
anyway) books about ritual magic involving bear urine and H.P. Lovecraft
monsters. The Moore of From Hell represents the writer at the height of his
mainstream powers, and it’s the version of the author I like best.

Reed Tucker is a features writer for the New York Post covering
entertainment and movies -- a position that generously allows him to see
crap films like "Tomorrowland" before the general public. He's also
written for the New York Times, Time Out NY and Oprah magazine. Still
not quite sure how that last one happened. He lives in Brooklyn, just
down the street from the late, great Bergen Street Comics. Contact @reed_tucker

I have to agree that Eddie Campbell's art is simply amazing in this and fits the whole mood of the story. It had that creepy feeling to it. Not to sound like a pussy but it scared the shit out of me and had me looking under my bed at night..

About Me

I'm a comic and toy historian who writes for ALTER EGO, THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR,RETRO FAN and BACK ISSUE magazine. I run "Saturday Morning Collectibles" where we buy and sell everything pop culture (especially vintage Marvel and DC toys and comics). I also represent and manage comic legend "Rascally" Roy Thomas. Contact me at johnstretch@live.com for seminar speakings, buying or selling, appraisals, private signings and appearances for Mr. Thomas. Follow me on Instagram at megostretchhulk, on twitter @Elastic_Hulk and listen to my Power Cosmic Podcast every week because I like attention...